All suspects directly involved in Sri Lanka bombings are dead or in jail

Sri Lankan Catholic priests walk outside the St. Anthony's church after it was partially opened for the first time since Easter Sunday attacks, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, May 7, 2019. (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)

All suspects believed to be directly connected to last month’s deadly bombings in Sri Lanka are dead or have been arrested, authorities said.

Nine were suicide bombers, including two bomb experts, and 73 have been detained, police announced Tuesday. Two to three suspects have yet to be arrested, but it appears they were not directly involved with the attacks, according to a statement by President Maithripala Sirisena’s office.

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The coordinated Easter Sunday explosions on April 21 killed more than 250 people as a group of terrorists targeted Catholic churches, luxury hotels and other sites, most of which were in Colombo, the country’s capital.

A massive manhunt ensued and authorities repeatedly warned residents and visitors that more attacks were possible. But in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, the president said that “all” explosives, weapons, safe houses and training centers have been found.

It’s not clear who exactly ordered the bombings and why, but ISIS claimed responsibility two days after the attack. The Asian country’s security officials do believe ISIS was involved, but they’re still investigating how it all happened.

Authorities initially said a local militant group, National Towheed Jamaar, carried out the attacks, but they later said the attackers had actually broken away from both that group and another organization known as JMI.

Two of the suicide bombers were sons of a prominent spice trader in Colombo, the country’s capital. Their father, Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim, has ties to politicians and was one of the first people to be arrested after the attack.

The attacks came 10 years after Sri Lanka saw the end of a brutal, 26-year civil war. The island nation has long struggled with conflicts among its mostly Buddhist population and Muslim, Christian and Hindu minorities.